ASQA has released a major review of the marketing practices of selected registered training organisations in Australia.

The review makes eight recommendations aimed at improving marketing and advertising practices and curbing practices by some training providers that potentially mislead consumers.

ASQA Chief Commissioner Chris Robinson said the review found a disturbing number of registered training organisations were marketing qualifications they claimed could be achieved in an unrealistic time frame, while others were marketing superseded qualifications.

ASQA has released a major review of safety training for workers on Australian construction sites as part of its ongoing efforts to ensure vocational and educational training in Australia remains world class.

The review into the effectiveness of the Construction White Card, a mandatory nationally recognised accreditation card for work safety induction training, makes six recommendations to help improve the safety of workers at construction sites.

As part of ongoing efforts to maintain world class vocational education and training standards across Australia, the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) has released a major review of training in the aged and community care sector.

The review makes 10 recommendations to help improve training in the sector including a stronger focus on regulatory scrutiny, upgrades to training packages and standards, and the development of benchmarks for the amount of learning required.

Section 4 of the Data Provision Requirements and Condition 6 of the AQTF Essential Conditions and Standards for Continuing Registration will require, from 1 January 2014, that the RTO:

• obtain full AVETMISS data according to the requirements, and subject to any applicable exemption, provided under the National VET Provider collection Data Requirements Policy;
• submit data compliant with AVETMISS according to the requirements, and subject to any applicable exemption, provided under the National VET Provider collection Data Requirements Policy; and
• comply with any other data provision requirements set out in the National VET Provider Collection Data Requirements Policy.

Condition 6 of the AQTF Essential Conditions and Standards for Initial Registration will require, from 1 January 2014, that the applicant demonstrate the capacity to obtain and submit AVETMISS compliant data according to the requirements set out in the National VET Provider Collection Data Requirements Policy.
All RTOs, and applicants who wish to become an RTO, are required to meet the same set of national standards for regulation. Depending on their regulator, these standards will either be the AQTF Essential Conditions and Standards for Initial / Continuing Registration or the VET Quality Framework. Whilst they are structured differently, there is no substantial difference in effect or intent between the AQTF and the VET Quality Framework.

An RTO is a Registered Training Organisation.

Only RTOs can issue Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) qualifications and statements of attainment in the vocational education and training (VET) sector.

RTOs are providers and assessors of nationally recognised training.

Training organisations wishing to become RTOs must be registered with ASQA if they operate within ASQA’s jurisdiction.

Organisations that are within ASQA's jurisdiction and not registered under the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011 cannot hold themselves out to be an RTO and cannot 'advertise', 'offer to provide', 'provide all or part of a VET course' or 'issue a VET qualification'.

To register as a Registered Training Organisation you need to first work out how and where you would like to offer your courses. This will determine which authority will be the regulatory body for your RTO.

ASQA
ASQA is the regulatory body for registered training organisations (RTOs) in:

• the Australian Capital Territory
• New South Wales
• the Northern Territory
• South Australia
• Queensland, and
• Tasmania.

ASQA is also the regulatory body for those registered training organisations in Victoria and Western Australia that:

Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS) providers are providers of nationally recognised training to overseas students who have Australian student visas. Only CRICOS providers can enrol overseas students or issue Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) qualifications and statements of attainment to these students.

To become registered to deliver to overseas students, an organisation needs to have:

• been approved as a registered training organisation (RTO), or
• been approved as a higher education provider, or
• met the National ELICOS Standards, or
• met the Foundation Program Standards.

In addition, to become registered to deliver to overseas students, an organisation needs to have the qualifications/courses it wishes to deliver to overseas students on its scope of registration.

Providers can lodge an application for CRICOS approval at the same time as an application for RTO registration.

ASQA-registered training organisations must meet the requirements for registration, including the requirements in the VET Quality Framework.

There is three things you will need to apply to become an RTO:

1. Training organisations that apply for initial registration with ASQA must comply with the VET Quality Framework as is defined in the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011. The VET Quality Framework includes the Standards for NVR Registered Training Organisations and conditions of registration.
2. Applicants must have a thorough working knowledge of the national VET system, including the national skills framework, which includes Training Packages, the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) and the VET Quality Framework. Without this understanding, applicants will have difficulty demonstrating that they are ready to operate as an RTO and to deliver quality training and assessment.  
3. Applicants must be able to show they have established the foundations of a sustainable business.

Applicants must not advertise, offer to provide, deliver or assess VET courses until they are registered and listed on training.gov.au.

The Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) takes a risk assessment approach to assessing all registration applications.

While ASQA does not provide timeframes for site audits, the usual wait period is approximately 6 months.

Using the following structured process, ASQA assesses applications for initial registration to ensure that they meet all  requirements for registration before approval is granted. The application must meet the requirements at each stage before it can be progressed.